


'Tis the Season

by KinomiAkai



Category: Naruto
Genre: A gift for all of you! Thank you for all your support this year!!, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Party, Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Smut, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friendship/Love, M/M, Office Party, Porn with Feelings, Rated as explicit because eventually it will be!, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 00:47:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17131850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KinomiAkai/pseuds/KinomiAkai
Summary: Sasuke hates Christmas. Sasuke is at a Christmas party. Sasuke is very, very unhappy.SNS, modern AU, written as a Christmas gift to all of you! Complete, new chapter up every day (posted on the 23rd, the 24th, and the 25th). Happy holidays! :)





	1. As Cuddly as a Cactus

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I know, I know, I know, I haven't replied to all of your comments!!! But it's 1 AM here so I'm technically posting this past my own set deadline - and I figured you would all appreciate a fic first :) I will respond to everyone, I promise!! It will just take a little time.
> 
> In other news, I set a deadline and I actually managed to stick to it! Here's the first part of a three part fic - next chapter will be up on Christmas Eve, and the last will be on Christmas Day! Written as a gift to all of you: thank you so much for your overwhelming support this year! It's been amazing!

It was ten at night. Ten at night, in a house that wasn't his own, with an entranceway blocked by chattering drunks and everything else blocked by bobbles and wreaths and whatever fucking else somebody had decided their money was worth. The jingle bells had been fucking relentless—

It was ten at night, and Sasuke...had regrets.

He could have very easily clarified, with his boss, when she had offhandedly commented on the Christmas party that _everyone_ went to. But no, instead, he'd assumed that the comment had been a roundabout order, and made absolutely zero motions to confirm that claim with any of the colleagues around him.

And then he'd promptly taken a cab here, despite barely bringing anything to drink, because that had been the _smart_ thing to do.

 _Fuck_ his better judgement. He was a world-class moron. The Christmas music blared so loudly he could barely hear himself think, and if he bumped into a bunch of pine needles stuffed together in the guise of _decoration_ one more time—

"Jeez," a voice interrupted his thoughts, and Sasuke nearly flung his drink into the air, "what'd that countertop do to you?"

Blonde— _oh_. The blonde, boisterous, life-of-the-party loudmouth—of all the people. Conventionally attractive, never without a smile...Sasuke made a point of stepping away from any and all supplies that he could have possibly come into the kitchen for. Let the man get what he needed from the kitchen. Sasuke had nothing to offer him.

"Not a party guy, huh?"

Still, the blonde turned away from him as he spoke—to pour his own drink. Small miracles.

"Not particularly."

The blonde laughed a little. Sasuke stared at the floor and did what he could to remember his name...U-something? Did it start with a U? No, that was his last name. Crap.

"And you still came?" The blonde turned around, resting his back against the edge of the counter. "You're too polite for your own good."

Well, Sasuke would give him that.

"Is it the crowd or the songs? If that one Mariah Carey song plays one more time, I'm gonna lose my mind."

Against his will, Sasuke snorted. The blonde's smile widened, and Sasuke distinctly saw his eyes flicker over Sasuke, as if looking for something—

"Need me to get you out of here?"

Sasuke blinked.

"You—what?"

"I'm pretty good at distractions. Is the door blocked?" The blonde trotted back over to the entrance, peering around it. "Oh, yeah. Okay. Huh—" he twisted back around to face Sasuke, "want me to take over? Karaoke would probably do the trick."

"You—is there even a machine?"

"You just start singing. Drunk people love it. This ain't my first rodeo, Sasuke."

Sasuke stared at him.

"I—" It was tempting. It was _more_ than tempting. But the night had barely begun, and if he left early, then...then there would have been no point in coming at all. He was here. His night was already ruined. He may as well—

"Or you wanna kill as much time as you can, make a general positive impact and get the hell out?"

That.

Yes, that. Absolutely, that—how did he—

The blonde grinned and said a small "uh-huh", as if Sasuke had spoken—or maybe he had just read the look on his face—

"I can do that," the blonde stretched his arms up towards the ceiling, "if you want. I need a couple more drinks, though."

The blonde moved back to the counter, refilling his drink as if to stress the point.

"You got a drink, Sasuke?"

There was his name again. Shit. Uzu...something. That was the blonde's last name, but…

Sasuke held up his glass, resigning himself to not knowing the name of this...stupidly helpful blonde. Damn it.

"This is the last of it."

Which had made up about two drinks, and Sasuke remained feeling stubbornly sober. He didn't _need_ the alcohol, but a dulled awareness of what time of year it was would have been...greatly appreciated. Still, he could do this. He wasn't a child anymore. He was used to this. He'd lived through it enough to be _used to this_ —

"Want some more?"

The blonde held up his bottle, still uncapped.

Sasuke blinked.

"I…" he started, and the song suddenly switched—an upbeat, booming version of Jingle Bell Rock surged through the house and Sasuke felt his skin start to _crawl_ , "yes. Please."

Sasuke downed the rest of what he had and passed the glass to the blonde. It burned down the back of his throat—sparking to a beat that was different than the one booming through the house, and Sasuke resisted the urge to close his eyes to focus on it, instead—

"What d'you mix with?"

Sasuke jerked back into reality.

"Straight is fine." The stronger it felt, the better.

The blonde eyed him for a moment longer, before his smile grew a little more knowing. What was _with_ this guy?

"Mm, gross." The guy laughed at his own joke. "Ice or no?"

Sasuke prefered the word _refined_ , or maybe _acquired taste_ , but—

"...Yes."

"On it," the blonde winked, and a moment later, the drink was pressed back into his hand. It was...fuller than he had expected.

"You don't have to drink all of it," the blonde said, still that step closer to him. "No pressure. You seem like you need to relax, though."

Sasuke brought the drink to his lips to hide his scowl. What was with this guy and reading him so easily? He'd thought—

"I'm Naruto, by the way. If you didn't remember my name."

Fuck.

"I remembered your name," Sasuke lied through his teeth.

Naruto's disbelieving laugh filtered through the room.

"Well yeah, on that note, if there are anybody else's names you totally remember, let me know and I definitely won't say their name a million times when we're greeting them."

Against his will, Sasuke fought a smile.

"When _we're_ greeting them?"

"Mhm," Naruto said, sipping his drink. "General positive impact and get the hell out, right? I can do that. You'll have to follow my lead, though."

"...If that lead involves karaoke, then—"

Naruto ducked his head and laughed.

"No! No, oh my god, Sasuke, I'm not an asshole." He paused for a moment. "...I'd maybe do that to Kiba."

That was...

"Kiba…?"

"Face tattoo."

Ah.

"Ah."

Naruto laughed again, as if Sasuke had somehow made a joke—

"Who else? Pink hair is Sakura, Ino's her girlfriend. She's blonde and super into make-up and hair and nails and all that. Kiba's into Hinata, she's got black hair—"

"I don't need the office gossip, Naruto." Sasuke's voice was harsh, and he nearly flinched as the words left his mouth. Naruto had been altogether polite—understanding, even, and there was no reason for Sasuke to—

But the blonde only burst into laughter.

"Sorry," he waved a hand over his face, "I'm totally overwhelming you with shit you don't care about—tell me to shut up anytime. I know I'm the worst with that."

But Naruto's voice was drowning out the music (the cheering and children and the fucking _bells_ ), and something about his laugh had Sasuke—

"It's fine."

Naruto looked surprised, but it was only a moment before his smile was back—happier than before, Sasuke could have sworn—

"So," Naruto said, leaning forward a little, "a hard liquor kinda guy, huh?"

Sasuke responded by raising the glass to his lips.

It made Naruto laugh again.

"I dunno how you do it," Naruto said, ducking away and then back again. "I can barely take a shot."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You seem perfectly acquainted with alcohol."

Naruto laughed.

"You're such a dick! I love it. How long are you with us for?"

This man was...so strange.

"It's a six month contract," Sasuke said quietly. Ideally, it would turn into something longer—that was part of the reason Sasuke felt so pressured to make a good impact tonight, but—well—he really ought to have ruined that already, and yet—

"Six," Naruto said. "Okay. Long enough to get a feel of the place and see if you wanna stay, not long enough to be stuck here. You been here long?"

"In the area?"

"Yeah."

"No," Sasuke said, "I moved here last week." And his apartment was in a fucking state, as a result—

"No wonder you're so grumpy," Naruto laughed, and Sasuke—

"I am not _grumpy_."

"You're a little grumpy," Naruto nudged him with his hip. "You just moved here and the people are loud and obnoxious and they won't stop playing Christmas music…"

Naruto trailed off with a teasing grin and a raised eyebrow and Sasuke...couldn't help but laugh. This...

"Are you like this with everyone you meet?"

Naruto laughed and Sasuke took another sip of his drink as he watched him. He always threw his head back a little, as if everything Sasuke said was just hilarious—

"S'part of my charm, Sasuke." Naruto rocked forward, then back—if he was closer to Sasuke, he strangely didn't mind it. Maybe the alcohol was having an impact after all…

"Being a moron?"

The laugh was offended, this time, and Sasuke found himself smiling along as Naruto slapped his shoulder.

"You an _ass_ with everyone you meet?"

The word was out of Sasuke's mouth before he could stop it.

"Yes."

Naruto laughed again.

"No wonder you're hiding out in the kitchen." He leaned back against the island, glancing back towards the entranceway. "Probably not the best hiding spot though, everybody's drinks are in here. You'd be better off in the fancy dining room or something."

"I'm hardly familiar enough with the house," or the _people,_ "to snoop around uninvited."

Naruto's smile widened.

"Jeez, you really are too polite for your own good." It was said with a sway and a tilt of the head, the same way Naruto's grin slanted to a side—

"Are you advocating indecency?"

"Sasuke," Naruto laughed, "have you _looked_ out that door?" He jerked his head back towards the kitchen entrance. "We all are."

Sasuke hid his smile in his glass.

As if on cue, the song changed. Sasuke found his mood rapidly fade, just as the music grew—

Naruto let out a breath.

"It's like it's getting _louder_." The words were muttered under Naruto's breath, but Sasuke heard him all the same. He watched as the blonde's eyes closed, his eyebrows furrowed and all hint of a smile left his face—and then, just like that, his pleasant expression was back.

"You a big Christmas guy, Sasuke?"

And Naruto smiled at him, then, but Sasuke's mind stayed still with that look on Naruto's face—

"I hate it, actually."

He hadn't planned on telling anyone that.

"Oh."

But the look on Naruto's face could only be described as...relieved.

"Oh," he said again, and that plaster of a grin fell into a small, soft smile that was _far_ better suited to that face. "Yeah, I—I mean, that's a shame. Wh—"

"You hate it too," Sasuke interrupted, with a confidence built by idiocy and alcohol. "Why? You seemed perfectly at ease."

Naruto blinked, and then his smile grew—well, not wider, but almost...warmer. Sasuke's chest felt tighter, for some reason, and yet he didn't look away—

"Did I?" Naruto asked—his voice was quieter, now. "I'm glad. It's, um—bad memories, I guess. But, y'know, just 'cause I don't really like it doesn't mean I have to ruin everybody else's good time, too. People feel bad if you aren't having fun with them, so...I don't wanna hurt the traditions they like. Or that they want to do. You know?"

"Why is it your responsibility to keep everyone else happy?"

Naruto looked surprised.

"It—I mean, it's not, I guess," he ducked his head, smiling a little, "but it's still something I wanna do. I dunno."

There was a pause.

"Eggnog's good, though. I'll take that."

Sasuke stared at him, incredulous.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, it's super sugary, but—"

"It's disgusting!" It was _paste_ —sugary, thick _slop_ in your mouth and Sasuke could happily live his life without ever living through the experience ever again—

"It is not!" Naruto laughed, slapping at his arm. "It's good!"

"You are objectively incorrect."

"You are objectively a dick, oh my god! Come on—what about like—minty drinks? Candy canes-flavoured stuff? Those aren't bad."

"If you're talking about peppermint syrup, absolutely not." Sasuke paused for a moment. "Candy canes are on thin ice."

Naruto laughed harder.

"Fucking hell, Sasuke, you're hilarious." He ducked back towards the counter, grabbing his bottle again. "Want another drink, asshole?"

He threw Sasuke a charming grin over his shoulder.

Sasuke dutifully passed him the glass, but not before—

"If you put eggnog anywhere near my glass, it will be in your face."

"Wow!" Naruto's laugh was mock-offended, again, and Sasuke found that he really quite enjoyed the sound— "You're so ungrateful—what happened to polite Sasuke?"

"You gave him alcohol," Sasuke pointed out, taking the refilled glass as Naruto passed it back.

Naruto laughed.

"Well, I'm gonna keep doing that, then. You're fun when you loosen up."

Sasuke felt his face heat up, and he turned away to sip at his drink. Really, he wasn't all _that_ intoxicated...maybe a little. There was some sort of hum, buzzing over his mind—soft and calming and counteracting the strange things his heart seemed to be doing every time Naruto laughed his way…

"You loose enough to go greet the crowds?"

"Can you rephrase that in a way that _doesn't_ sound like an innuendo?"

Naruto was midway through a sip of his drink, and immediately started coughing.

"Sasuke! You're too much," he laughed again, "c'mon. I think it's time to work on getting you out of here."

Naruto backed towards the entrance, beckoning Sasuke to come with him.

"And how am I managing that?" Sasuke asked, following nonetheless—

"Follow my lead. I've got this."

* * *

True to his word, Naruto had...the entire party under his control. It seemed entirely out of _anyone's_ control, to Sasuke, but Naruto slipped in and out of conversations with ease, involving Sasuke without him ever having to say a word—people laughed and smiled along and acted as if Sasuke, too, was socializing—

He was almost...comfortable.

Which was impossible, because Sasuke hated parties. Sasuke hated all social outings, with almost every fiber of his being. Even if this _hadn't_ been the worst time of the year, he should have despised every second of it, but this just felt so…

Easy.

"Okay, okay," Naruto laughed, tapping two fingers on Sasuke's lower back in a signal that Sasuke's fuzzy brain was starting to recognize as tapping out of the conversation, "you guys are nuts. I gotta talk to Hinata—y'know the thing I said earlier, Sasuke? About the time Kiba got that collar stuck—"

And Naruto chattered away from this conversation, easily leading Sasuke towards the next—all he had to do was stay quiet and _listen_ , and that was something he could certainly do—

"—and then Akamaru was freaking out—did I tell you about Akamaru? Hey—Hinata!"

"O-oh, Naruto. Hello."

"Hey," Naruto grinned, letting go of Sasuke's wrist. When had he grabbed it? "Tell Sasuke the collar story."

The girl covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed, and then launched into the tale.

And all Sasuke had to do was _nod_.

The crawling feeling under his skin was all but gone—although, perhaps, that was due to the alcohol—and the music had faded in the face of Naruto's quick interjections, his laughter, his two fingers tapping Sasuke on his back—

"Kay, bye Hinata! Let's see—" Naruto glanced around the room, his voice getting quieter. "We got Tsunade already—we've covered most people, yeah? What do you think?"

"I think," Sasuke said, his first words in something around an hour, "you're a witch."

Naruto burst into laughter.

"Oh my god, Sasuke—" Naruto waved a hand around his face. "No, no, you gotta—gimmie, like, grand wizard—or elder witch of, uh, dreamliness. A title with a little somethin' somethin', y'know?"

"Eldest moron."

And Sasuke, who hated loud people and physical contact, smiled as Naruto shoved himself into him. His body was warm and his laugh even more so—Sasuke was suddenly entirely unsure as to how he'd managed to forget this dazzling blonde's name—

"C'mon, your assholiness, let's get you—uh, crap, everybody's still around the entrance. We can start moving that way, though, hang on—we can duck through another room. C'mon!"

Naruto turned, hand loosely sliding around Sasuke's wrist again, and Sasuke let himself be pulled. It looked like the _fancy dining room_ that Naruto had mentioned earlier and Sasuke distantly registered the fact that Naruto was obviously familiar with the house—

"Whose house is this?"

Naruto, hand still on Sasuke's wrist, paused and turned around.

"Tsunade's."

Sasuke stared at him blankly.

"Our _boss_ , Sasuke. Are you this bad with names? I s—"

"Her name is _Miss Senju_ —why are you on a first name basis with our boss? You—"

"'Cause not all of us are Sasuke I'm-nice-until-you-get-me-drunk Uchiha," Naruto said, grinning as he hopped up on the balls of his feet to duck closer to Sasuke. "Being polite is bullshit."

"And yet you're here, celebrating something you hate out of _respect for other people's traditions_ ," Sasuke said, making no move to back away. "So which one is it?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed, but his smile didn't waver.

"You're too smart for your own good, aren't you, asshole?"

Sasuke felt his smile widen. It felt so satisfying to _be_ the one being far too perceptive, for once, as opposed to the way Naruto had been reading him so effortlessly the entire night—

"Am I?"

Naruto's tongue darted out between his teeth, and then he stepped back.

"Dick," he threw back at Sasuke, although Sasuke wasn't altogether sure what that was referencing. "C'mon. We can skip half the crowd through these rooms."

And Naruto pulled him forward, again, with the hand that was pulsing warmth around Sasuke's wrist, through the doors of this room into the next. He dodged a table and chairs that Sasuke very nearly collided with, and twisted again to open a set of doors with his back—

"Here's hoping," Naruto said, smiling at Sasuke with sparkling eyes, and the doors burst open.

The music was just as loud, but Naruto was right in saying they missed some of the crowd. Still, they hadn't missed _all_ of it. If anything, they seemed right on the verge of the thick of it, and—

The crowd was staring at them.

The crowd was—wait, why was the crowd staring at them?

"Oh, come on," said Naruto's voice, and Sasuke turned to see him looking directly above them—

Mistletoe.

Of fucking course.

But Naruto met Sasuke's eye with a sheepish, blushing grin, and the panic that had flashed through him for a moment settled into something much more—

"Still going to keep everyone happy, Naruto?"

Smug.

Naruto huffed and rolled his eyes, but his smile didn't waver. He stared at Sasuke for a moment longer before—

"Not my responsibility."

It was quiet and quick, said in the same moment Naruto stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Sasuke's waist—Sasuke felt himself freeze as it pulled ever so slightly and then his eyes fluttered closed as Naruto leaned in and pressed their lips together—

They were just as warm as Sasuke had expected. Much softer, though, and the kiss was so gentle and delicate that Sasuke nearly stumbled as Naruto pulled away—but he was barely gone a moment before he leant in, beside Sasuke's ear, this time—

"Now's your chance."

And then he was gone, meeting the crowd as it surged forward, hollering and teasing and cheering and Sasuke thought—

_Oh._

Now was his chance.

Now was his—

He moved towards the entrance, now clear—but paused just as the door was open, just to meet Naruto's smiling eyes, once more—

"Go," Naruto mouthed, and Sasuke did.


	2. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Another late update today - Christmas time is a busy one! But I'm so happy you guys like it so far; you've been so sweet!!! Our major celebration is tomorrow, so that's when the last (longest) chapter will be up. I hope you like this one!

Except that he didn't.

He had pulled his coat on, pulled his phone out, opened the app to call his ride back to him and yet—

He couldn't bring himself to press the button.

His fingers stayed on his lips, instead, still tingling with warmth, even with the wind blowing puffs of snow into Sasuke's face. Sasuke let out a breath and saw the steam dissolve in front of him.

He hadn't even gotten Naruto's number.

He pulled his hand away from his face and shook his head. This was ridiculous—this hesitation, as if he'd never see Naruto again—they were _working_ together. He'd see him as soon as the holiday break was over. There was nothing to _miss_ here—why did he feel like he had missed something here? He wasn't even sure—the kiss could have been nothing but a distraction, nothing except to give Sasuke the getaway he needed, but then—but then—

_Not my responsibility._

Sasuke wrenched his hand from his lips again. Damn it—he was too drunk for this. He just needed to go home and—sleep. And sleep through tomorrow. And the next day, preferably, because Itachi was out of the country and the further Sasuke could remove himself from reality, the better—

"Hey, you're still here!"

Naruto.

Sasuke set his phone back to sleep without looking at it.

"Cab didn't come yet?"

Naruto hugged his scarf closer to himself and stuffed his hands into his pockets. His breaths were coming in puffs of steam, too, and it made Sasuke realize that he likely wasn't feeling the cold as much as he should be—

"I haven't called one."

Naruto looked surprised.

"Oh," he shuffled his feet into the snow, glancing down and back up again, "um. Did you—d'you—wanna split one?"

Sasuke's phone was back on in a heartbeat.

* * *

Sasuke was gonna fall asleep in this car.

He'd already looked pretty tired when they were outside—or maybe he'd just been hitting his limit on social stuff. Might've been the alcohol, too—

Either way, Sasuke's head was about thirty seconds from falling onto Naruto's shoulder.

"Around here is fine."

And Naruto's stop was first, which was kinda unfortunate because he'd really wanted to keep hanging out with Sasuke a little—the guy who hated Christmas as much as he did, the guy who was a bit of a dick but still did everything he could to stay stupidly polite, the guy who had opened up so _much_ throughout the night to an extent that it left Naruto nearly craving more—

He really liked him.

He really liked Sasuke.

But the cab slowed to a stop, and Naruto was forced to gently nudge Sasuke awake so he could fish his wallet out of his pocket.

"It's my stop," he said quietly, to the Sasuke who was blearily blinking around the car—

"Wh—oh. Already?"

Naruto grinned a little. "You fell asleep, smartypants."

Sasuke shoved his shoulder into Naruto's and muttered a small, "you're stupid."

It definitely shouldn't've made his heart skip a beat, but then...Sasuke was so relaxed, and it was in such direct contrast to how he'd been every other day so far…

"S'your place still a disaster?" he asked— _casually_ —as he passed the money to the driver.

"Is my—what?"

"Your place," Naruto said, "you just moved in last week, right?"

"Oh," Sasuke said, his eyes growing a little more focused. "I...don't even have sheets."

Naruto's smile widened.

"Wanna come up? You can steal my bed."

Sasuke blinked up at him.

"No decorations, I promise. No Mariah Carey, either."

Sasuke snorted, and the small, soft smile was back on his face. Naruto thought it suited him so much better than that neutral, impassive look—

"Mistletoe?"

Naruto's cheeks promptly set themselves on fire.

"Oh, you wish," he muttered, using his shoulder to jerk the car door open. He'd extended the invitation and that was good enough—he wasn't gonna stay here and pressure Sasuke to—

Sasuke pushed him out of the way and shut the door behind them.

"You've kissed me and invited me into your bed," he pointed out, as the cab drove away. "Should I not be suspicious of what kind of night this is turning into?"

And Sasuke's eyes were tired but his smile was just as smug—just as teasing, and Naruto just _couldn't_ not smile when Sasuke smiled at him, damn it, it was like the hardest thing in the world—

"Context, asshole, _context_ ," he insisted, even though everything about Sasuke was brilliantly attractive and Naruto could easily, happily, _legitimately_ invite him into bed at this point, "and you're drunk. C'mon, it's this door."

Naruto turned the keys and nudged it open, but Sasuke stayed still behind him.

"What?"

"I'm drunk," Sasuke said. "Not that I'm a man?"

Oh.

Oops.

"I mean," Naruto ducked his head, "no—I'm, uh, bisexual." He was gonna find out eventually. He was probably gonna find out _soon_. Everybody else at the office knew and Naruto sucked at keeping secrets anyway—

"And you're attracted to me?"

Naruto crossed his arms.

"I could be," he answered carefully, "if you're also not straight, attracted to me, and sober the next time you ask."

Sasuke watched him for a moment longer. Naruto felt himself deflate, and ran a hand through his hair.

Well. So much for this.

"Want me to call the cab back?"

Sasuke started—as if he was jerking back into reality—

"What? No," he said quickly. "You're blocking my way in."

Naruto blinked in surprise, but dutifully stepped off to the side as Sasuke moved through the entrance. He paused, though, right in front of Naruto, and Naruto felt the panic fling itself through him as Sasuke turned to face him—

"Moron," he said. "Where am I going? You have to take the lead."

He held up his hand, loose and bent back—no, wait, he was holding out his _wrist_ —

Oh.

Naruto gently grasped it.

"C'mon, asshole."

He pulled Sasuke forward.

* * *

Naruto was dumb.

It was Sasuke's new assessment of the situation.

Well, maybe not that new, but Sasuke was _obviously_ interested. And he wasn't that drunk, and Naruto was worried about nothing.

(It was a kind gesture, though. It was as if Naruto was made out of those.)

Naruto pulled him into the elevator, and let go of his wrist to press the button. Sasuke made a point of pushing his shoulder into Naruto's, and swore his cheeks grew redder—

Well, good. Payback.

The elevator beeped, and Sasuke let out a breath through his nose as Naruto gently took his wrist again. At least the moron was taking _some_ hints—

"Um, it might be a bit of a mess," Naruto quietly warned him, letting go again. "I wasn't really expecting visitors."

"My standards are a sheet-less mattress and a single blanket with no pillows. I think you'll be able to meet them."

Naruto laughed and nudged the door open, holding it for Sasuke.

"Don't you have a kitchen?"

"I have a fridge that came with the place," Sasuke said, sighing at the reminder, "but that's it. The microwave didn't fit."

"Oh my god, that's a tragedy."

"It was, actually."

Naruto laughed again, and the familiar warmth came back to Sasuke, even as Naruto let go of him to grab a sweater off the couch—grab at a couple used dishes, still on the table, and replace a garbage bag that he'd obviously been holding off—

"Sorry," Naruto babbled again, tripping over himself to get back to the kitchen. "It's not—well, it is, actually, usually this messy, but—"

Sasuke snorted.

"Hey!"

"Do you have a functioning bathroom?"

"Wh—oh, yeah, 'course. Just down the hall. Did you, um," Naruto turned back towards the kitchen, "want another drink…?"

Sasuke glanced back at him.

"If you're offering."

Naruto's only response was a blushing grin, and Sasuke spared it two more glances as he made his way to the bathroom.

* * *

Naruto moved the drinks to the bedroom. It was where his TV was, anyway, so if Sasuke wanted to watch something...and he could grab his laptop, too, just in case he needed to hook it up—actually, that was a good idea, he should go do that—

"Is this your bedroom?"

Sasuke leaned in the doorway, looking…whew. Naruto firmly reminded himself not to stare.

"Yeah. Um—the TV's in here and stuff. I can sleep on the couch or the floor or whatever, and—"

"You can sleep in the bed," Sasuke said, moving past him.

Naruto ducked his head.

"I—I absolutely can't," Naruto laughed, barely able to look at Sasuke, "I'm such an aggressive cuddler, Sasuke. You'd wake up tomorrow with me wrapped around you like an octopus."

And there was no guarantee his memories of the previous night would (clearly and/or immediately) come back, _and_ Sasuke seemed like a pretty antisocial guy, and waking up in a stranger's bed with said stranger all-fucking-over you was a recipe for a freak out—

"As long as you don't try to strangle me."

Naruto ducked his head again.

"No—I'll—I'll sleep on the floor. I—you're drunk."

And Sasuke stared at him again, like his eyes were burning holes—

"Why are you so intent on thinking my motivations are made of alcohol?"

Naruto looked up.

"Um," he started, "...drunk Sasuke seems a lot more comfortable with things that sober Sasuke might not be."

He finished with a small shrug. Sasuke stared at him a moment longer, before heaving out a breath and flopping back onto the bed.

"I'll prove you wrong tomorrow," he said, facing the ceiling.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair and bit his tongue until it didn't say _I hope so_.

"Um—d'you want a change of clothes? My pajamas would probably fit you…"

"That would be nice," Sasuke said, sitting up. "Which drink is mine?"

Naruto grinned at him.

"The one with eggnog in it."

Sasuke immediately narrowed his eyes—

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! The one with the ice. I don't even have eggnog."

Sasuke still sniffed the glass suspiciously, and Naruto laughed as he turned to dig through his drawers. He tossed the first pair of pants he found at Sasuke—black, with a large orange spiral on the back—and the shirt beside it, the one with the frog sticking out its tongue—

"Thanks," Sasuke said, taking a sip of his drink. "What's in this?"

He slid it onto the table.

"Uh, bit of gin, and martini and soda. Is it okay?"

Sasuke nodded, and promptly pulled his shirt over his head.

Naruto froze.

Oh. That...oh. Okay, yeah, Sasuke was even more attractive without a shirt, okay, that was really good to know, yup—

"My eyes are up here, Naruto."

"Oh, you cocky mother _fucker_ —" Naruto scrambled out of the room, one hand over his face.

He distinctly heard Sasuke laugh as the door closed.

* * *

Okay, maybe Sasuke was a _little_ more buzzed than otherwise anticipated. He didn't think he'd have pulled that move otherwise, but then—there was something about Naruto's blatant, easy, earnest demeanor that had Sasuke so...comfortable.

He kept waiting for the feeling to go away—to wear off, and it just...hadn't.

"You can come back, now," Sasuke called, shifting the waistband of Naruto's pants around his hips. They were loose and comfortable, a soft fabric that had Sasuke shifting around the bed—after a week of sleepless, cold nights, this felt like the height of luxury.

Naruto shuffled back in, face still flushed a bright red. Sasuke was starting to think that might be his favourite look on him.

"Hey, asshole," he greeted, Not Looking at Sasuke.

Sasuke responded by passing him his drink.

"Stop making that face," Naruto muttered, and Sasuke let out a soft laugh.

Naruto sat on the edge of the bed and pulled his feet up, and Sasuke propped up a pillow so he could sit up and hold his own drink.

There was a pause.

Naruto's face was still flushed—still embarrassed from being so obviously attracted to Sasuke—but Sasuke was watching him for something else.

There was a question that had been burning in him all night.

"Why do you hate...this time of year?" Sasuke asked quietly.

Naruto's head jerked up. He sucked in a breath, and then it paused, as if Naruto didn't know which words to follow it with—

"You mentioned bad memories," Sasuke continued, looking down at the sheets. They were same orange as his shirt, he noticed. "You don't need to elaborate more than that, if…"

He trailed off.

"No," Naruto said, "no, it's okay. It—um, it's a bit dumb, though."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Let me be the judge of that."

Naruto threw him a small smile.

"Um, so—my birth parents...well, I was—I was pretty much born in an orphanage. And then I went through a bunch of foster homes, and...so, um, I think I just had bad luck, or something, or maybe it was just a bunch of coincidences, but...it was always now. Always around Christmas where people started to, um, think about adopting. We'd have visits and sleepovers and people even started filling out paperwork, and then the new year'd come and that was it. I'd never see them again." He shifted. "It was the same every year. Eventually I just started hating it. I knew what would happen."

Sasuke let out a breath.

"I'm sorry," he offered quietly. He didn't know what else to say.

"S'fine. That's what I mean, though. Not anything really awful, just bad memories with the music and the movies and the trees and all that...I can't feel good around it. I dunno." Naruto glanced over at him. "You?"

Well, he supposed he deserved this.

"My parents passed away on December 24th. I was nine."

"Jesus fucking Christ," Naruto ducked back to run a hand through his hair. "Okay, you win. Jesus _fuck_."

Sasuke snorted and looked away.

"Fantastic," he said. "What's the prize?"

Naruto let out a breath.

"Me. At your beck and call—today. Tomorrow. The next day, too, if you want. Just tell me to do whatever."

He met Sasuke's eyes for a long moment. There was something a bit _too_ strong in them—something raw and honest, and something that had a lump settling into Sasuke's throat as he looked away—

"My...brother is out of the country. We usually spend these days together." Well—Itachi just tended to show up wherever Sasuke was and force him to deal with his presence, no matter how insistent Sasuke was that he didn't need it. But then…

"Not this year?"

"...No," Sasuke said quietly. It wasn't the first time Sasuke had spent this time alone—no. Itachi was just as busy as Sasuke, and they never seemed to be in the same place anymore, not in space nor in time—

"'Kay," Naruto said, shifting until their arms rested against each others'. "Then you can stay as long as you want. And you can leave whenever you want. I'll pay your cab."

Sasuke frowned at him.

"That's hardly necessary."

"Hey," Naruto said, "I like to help. Let me help. Okay?"

Sasuke paused for a moment, scanning over him.

"I've noticed. Are you this way with everyone?"

Naruto's face flushed.

"I mean—I try to be, yeah. But like, it's not like I'm selfless or whatever—I like helping people 'cause it makes me feel good to see other people happy. That's all."

"Right," Sasuke deadpanned, "of course. How incredibly selfish of you."

Naruto crumbled into laughter, nudging Sasuke's shoulder again.

There was a soft, comfortable pause. Sasuke's drink was still on the side table, but he couldn't really bring himself to sit up enough to take more than the occasional sip. Honestly, he just wanted to burrow into these sheets…

"Sleepy, huh?"

Sasuke opened his eyes. They'd probably been closed longer than he realized.

"Lemmie grab my clothes and I'll be out of your hair. Just gimmie a sec—"

Naruto breathed out and the bed shifted. Sasuke slipped further down the bed as Naruto returned to the same drawer, still open.

"Do you have to leave?" Sasuke asked, eyes half-open. He was just as tired as he had been all week—and all week, that had lasted until he was ready to close his eyes and settle into sleep.

And then nothing.

But Naruto, here, was distraction and comfort and Sasuke was feeling a calmness that he was not yet willing to lose—

Naruto straightened, pants in hand.

"I—do you not want me to…?"

"No." His pride was gone anyway. Naruto read him like a book. He was tired and drunk and he watched as Naruto nearly _swelled_ with happiness—

"You—" Naruto laughed out a breath, and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah—I'll—"

He shuffled back over to the bed—grabbing a pillow, and then two, and tossing them onto the floor. There was a closet that Sasuke hadn't noticed before, filled with shelves and boxes and a few sheets of paper that floated down to the floor as Naruto cursed at them—

"Need help, moron?"

"No, I'm—argh—" Naruto dodged back as he pulled on something, "I'm—sorry, these are my spare sheets, I've barely used them. I think I have...uh—"

Clump of cloth in hand, Naruto doubled back, ducking around something as Sasuke's eyes fluttered closed for another moment too long—

"There," Naruto breathed out, closer than before, and Sasuke's eyes snapped open again. "I'm gonna go brush my teeth and get changed—get under the blankets, Sasuke, you drunk dickhead—"

Sasuke snorted out a laugh, but kicked the covers down to his feet so he could pull them up again. Naruto scrambled to help him, too, half-leaning over him in the process—

"A little forward, don't you think?" he asked, feeling Naruto's breath on his face—

Naruto huffed out a breath and pulled back.

"You _cocky_ —you better not be asleep when I get back!"

"Don't take too long, then."

"Asshole!"

"Moron."

* * *

Sasuke was, as a matter of fact, still not asleep when Naruto got back. He was damn near close, though—Naruto could barely see the glitter of his eyes with how far closed they were. Still, Naruto settled onto his weird little set-up on the floor, and Sasuke rolled to the side of the bed to watch him.

"Careful," Naruto warned, watching Sasuke's arm swing over the side of the bed.

Sasuke responded with a soft snort.

Naruto shifted onto his side so he could face Sasuke better.

"Anybody ever told you you have nice hands?" Sasuke's fingers were long and elegant, and Naruto was pretty convinced those nails were manicured. It was in stark contrast to Naruto's own hands, that were always dry or wrinkled or cut up somehow—

Sasuke lifted his hand up for a moment, as if examining the back of it, and then let it fall again. It was closer to Naruto, now.

"Yes, actually," he said quietly. "My mother."

Naruto was immediately more awake.

"Oh," he sucked in a breath, suddenly awfully sure he should apologize— "I—"

"Anyone ever told you your face is weird?"

Naruto paused.

"My...wh—" Naruto laughed and slapped at Sasuke's hand. "Yeah, in _middle school_ , you asshole—"

He rolled onto his back, as if going away from Sasuke, but then the guy laughed and Naruto's eyes were immediately on him again—

"What makes it weird? Is it the scars?"

Sasuke blinked.

"What scars?"

"On my cheeks. I had some, like, revision on them a little while ago to fix them but I think you can still see them sometimes, I dunno…"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"...Oh."

Sasuke snorted. "Moron."

"Dick! Stop making fun of me—ugh, you're the worst."

"Did you have facial scars?"

"Yeah—that, I, up—I got my face all cut up as a kid, but don't think I'm forgetting you called my face weird!"

As if he'd let Sasuke change the topic—

Sasuke rolled onto his back.

"It's your eyes."

His hand still hung loosely off the side of the bed, and Naruto had another urge to reach out and touch it—

"They look...at me."

"Uh, yeah," Naruto said, sitting up a little, "that's what eyes do, Sasuke."

"I'm going to kick your ass," Sasuke muttered, and it was so half-hearted that Naruto couldn't help but laugh—

"Yeah, you and the three percent of your brain that's awake right now." Naruto slumped back into his pillows. "Good luck with that."

Sasuke responded by rolling back over the side of the bed, and flicking Naruto right between his eyebrows.

" _Ow_ ," Naruto said, rubbing the spot. Sasuke was laughing again and he'd already rolled over, but what the hell? That had actually _stung_ —

"My brother used to do that all the time. Effective, isn't it?"

"It fucking _is_ ," Naruto said, still rubbing at the skin, "your brother's a dick."

Sasuke laughed again, and _damn it_ , Naruto couldn't stop himself from smiling if he had all the strength in the world—

"Yes, he is."

Naruto laughed.

"What's his name? Is he older or younger?"

"Itachi. Older by five years."

"Aw," Naruto rolled over and settled back down to grin at Sasuke, "you're the _little brother_."

He swore Sasuke's eye twitched.

"I'll kill you."

Naruto laughed. "Makin' a lot of threats there, Sasuke. Where's Itachi now?"

"Japan," Sasuke said, half-lidded eyes scanning over Naruto's face. "He runs the family business."

"You—your parents ran a business in Japan?"

"And a branch here, yes. After—" Sasuke rolled away to look back up at the ceiling and Naruto was immediately on edge, "the branch here closed. We still had some...family members in Japan to prevent...going out of business. Selling the business. I don't know."

Naruto sat up on his knees, and crossed his arms over the mattress.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," he said quietly. It was a bad (awful, awful, awful) enough thing to happen, but this time of year _thrived_ on nostalgia. It was built on memories—Naruto knew better than anyone. And for Sasuke…

"It's fine," Sasuke muttered, eyes closed. It was a tired, worn out line. Naruto bet Sasuke said it all the time.

Naruto gently placed his hand on Sasuke's, and Sasuke's eyes flickered open.

There was a pause.

"You're doing it again," Sasuke whispered.

"Doing what?"

But Sasuke didn't answer. He stayed still, looking into Naruto's eyes as if searching them for something...Naruto pulled Sasuke's hand towards him as he crossed his arms again, so he could rest his face on them like a pillow. He held the gaze, though—soft and intermittently. He didn't mind Sasuke watching him like this.

"You're warm," Sasuke said, as his eyelids started to fall again.

Naruto let out a soft laugh.

"Maybe to a cold bastard like you."

Sasuke's hand shifted, then, in Naruto's, and Naruto wondered if he was gonna flick him again—but he settled after only a moment.

"Moron," he whispered. Still, that soft, half-smile was back on his face, and something in it made Naruto run his thumb along the back of Sasuke's hand—

"Y'know, when I was little," Naruto started, "I had this teacher—Mister Umino. Like when I was really, really little. He stayed after school 'till I could get picked up and we'd go to this noodle place...it was my favourite. I loved it there."

"Figures," Sasuke breathed, eyes closed again, "your best memories would be about food."

Naruto laughed. "Food is the way to my heart," he acknowledge. "I won't deny it."

"Mm," Sasuke mumbled, "good to know."

Naruto laughed again, but let the silence settle, just for longer. It seemed like Sasuke might actually be falling asleep…

"Keep going."

It was soft, and barely more than a breath, but Naruto heard the words easily. He grinned and nuzzled further into the mattress.

"Um," he said, searching his memory, "so—one time, I got sick for a week, and so we didn't go out for food or anything. And the guy that ran the shop—Teuchi, I remember his name—so he was like, apparently, like kinda worried? That Mister Umino was there without me? And so Mister Umino told him I was sick and he sent back like all this food and green tea and stuff to make me feel better...it was awesome. I miss that place."

Sasuke breathed out and in again—slower. Deeper. Naruto settled further into place and tried to do the same.

"Yeah," he breathed out quietly, "and then later, when I was a teenager, there was this guy Jiraiya…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a more serious chapter, but still pretty lighthearted, I think? Let me know what you thought! Merry Christmas Eve, everyone :)
> 
> See you tomorrow,
> 
> \- Kinomi


	3. Let Your Heart Be Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are so nice! Thank you so, so much for all the comments and kudos and everything - I'm so happy you guys liked this little fic. I hope you like this chapter, too! Special shoutout to r0kket for helping me brainstorm movies ;)

Sasuke was thirsty.

Sasuke was warm, comfortable, and desperately not wanting to leave this bed yet, but...ugh. He was going to have to.

He sucked in a breath and forced his eyes to open. He wasn't awfully tired, but his eyes still burned—the light streamed in through the cracks in the curtains, and…

Sasuke didn't have curtains.

"...Oh."

Naruto. Naruto—the blonde who hadn't been able to remember the name of. The one who had read him like a book. The one who had kissed him. The one who had stayed up, holding his hand and talking about such distant memories that Sasuke didn't know when he had stopped listening and started dreaming—

Sasuke slowly— _slowly_ —leaned over the side of the bed.

Empty.

Okay. He let out a breath. Naruto was awake—and had let Sasuke sleep, which was something to be grateful for. And—oh.

A cup of water, a bottle of painkillers, and another cup with...coffee. On the bedside table.

Sasuke ducked his head.

Stupid annoyingly helpful blonde.

Sasuke took two painkillers and downed the water with it. The coffee was very welcome, too, although—oh. Now that he moved it, he could see the small container of sugar, and the even smaller one of cream.

But Naruto had left it black—and it was still warm. Sasuke hugged the cup closer to himself.

What a weird guy.

A weird guy that Sasuke barely knew, and was going to be his coworker for the next six months. A guy with which a relationship could spectacularly backfire, no matter the level of intimacy—no matter how—how bright his eyes were, or how charming or perceptive or patient or honest or _fucking hell_ —

Sasuke was already falling for this person.

Damn it.

"Oh, you're up!"

_Damn it_.

Naruto, bright and awake and with oven mitts on his hands holding a steaming bowl of something, nudged himself through the doorway.

He looked like a fucking dream.

"How's the hangover?"

"...Fine," Sasuke said, staring intently into his cup of coffee.

There was a pause, and then he heard Naruto snort.

"Mhm, okay. Here." He slid the bowl onto the side table, and pulled off a mitt with his teeth. "I'll get you more water."

He tucked the mitt under his arm and grabbed Sasuke's empty cup, and then he was out the door.

Sasuke stared at the doorway until he came back. No oven mitts this time, but the cup was fully refilled, and Naruto passed it to him with a blushing, brilliant smile—

"I, um," Naruto scratched the back of his neck, "I dunno how much you remember from yesterday, but you can stay as long as you want here. And you can leave whenever you want—just let me know, okay?"

He remembered...everything, he thought, although he might have rather not. That level of vulnerability was something he was rapidly growing less comfortable wi—

"And—oh, crap, you don't have any food allergies, do you?"

Sasuke shook his head, opening his mouth to reply—

"Oh—okay, good—um, and, um, I made soup 'cause it's kinda cold today but just let me know—"

Oh.

"—if you don't like it or something—I can make anything else, I really don't mind. And, um—"

Naruto ducked his head again and shuffled his feet as he spoke, and Sasuke—

"If you—"

"Naruto," Sasuke cut him off. "Thank you."

Naruto's face flushed a bright red, but he _beamed_. Sasuke shook his head a little and went back to staring at his coffee, considering the fact that he very obviously was not the only one feeling nervous.

Beside him, Naruto shuffled in place.

Sasuke snorted.

"You can sit down, moron," he said. "It's your house."

"Wh— _hey_!" Naruto laughed and ducked onto the bed, shoving at Sasuke's leg as he crawled across the bed. "You are just as much of a dick in the morning, oh my god."

"I think you'll find I'm more of a dick in the mornings," Sasuke said quietly, and Naruto was immediately laughing again. He rolled over to rest his head on his arm kicking his feet up behind him as he grinned at Sasuke.

"Not a morning guy?"

Sasuke held up his coffee cup, now empty.

"Absolutely not."

Naruto laughed, but was already pushing himself up—

"D'you want more? I can ma—"

"I'm alright," Sasuke rolled his eyes, "relax, moron. Have _you_ eaten?"

Naruto threw him a sheepish grin, and then nodded.

"Yeah," he said, laying back down, "when I woke up. I let you sleep longer—didn't know if—if you'd wanna sleep the day away or the hangover away or if you'd been sleeping well in your apartment with no sheets, and—um, crap." Naruto put his hands over his face. "I'm rambling again—sorry."

"You do tend to do that, don't you?" Sasuke said, watching him. "Anything else you'd like to tell me?"

Naruto let out a long breath and rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah. Yeah, actually. Please punch me to shut me up when you want."

"Will do. Ramble away."

Naruto pulled his hands away from his face to throw Sasuke a shy, embarrassed smile.

"Yeah, um...if you wanna use my shower, you can. The hot water takes a bit to warm up, so just let it run for a little. I left my spare toothbrush on the counter if you want it—it's still in the package—and you can borrow whatever clothes you want—and uh, um, if you want to stay for longer, like a couple of days, I just bought a case of briefs and I haven't opened them yet and you can have them if you want and oh my god Sasuke please punch me in the face—"

Sasuke put a hand over his mouth.

"Stop laughing!"

He couldn't, though, because this nervous babbling mess beside him was so fucking _stupid_ —and Naruto was grabbing at his shoulder now, pulling his hand away from his mouth, but Sasuke couldn't stop himself from—

"Sasuke!" Naruto said, scrambling all over him. "Come on—"

Naruto pushed at him until Sasuke fell back, but Naruto still had ahold of his wrists—he ended up overtop of him, pinning him to the mattress as if—

"A little forward, don't you think?" Sasuke asked, the same words he had said the night before.

Naruto's tongue darted out between his lips—

And then he pulled back.

"You—" he laughed, "okay—I'm gonna take a shower. Eat your food before it gets cold."

* * *

Naruto didn't bother waiting for the water to heat up. For one, he didn't want to use up all the hot water if Sasuke wanted to use it, too, and for two—for two—

Naruto leaned against the tile and let out a breath.

For two, he needed to step the fuck back.

It wasn't that Sasuke didn't seem interested—he, well, he was pretty much almost definitely interested—but—Naruto was just...on another level right now. Too far gone, and he just—just wanted Sasuke to kiss _him_. Or make some sort of move beyond teasing the shit out of him, and that was stupid, and he knew it was stupid, but just—Sasuke was just so—

Naruto felt like he was going nuts. He liked this guy way too much and way too fast and if his brain would just _slow down for once in his life for fuck's sake_ —

Naruto gently banged his head against the tile.

He just...liked him way too much.

* * *

Had it been his coffee breath?

Sasuke spun the broth around the bowl, and watched it swirl. Maybe...well, he supposed he hadn't exactly brushed his teeth last night.

There was nothing subtle about Naruto. Not a single part of him, and his interest was just the same. He was nervous and blushing and shy and giddy and what the hell? Why had he pulled away like that?

And why was Sasuke so _disappointed_ about it?

He should have been relieved. Office relationships were never a good idea. They weren't. They weren't. They...oh, fuck it.

Sasuke finished the bowl and shoved it back onto the table.

It had been fucking delicious. And Naruto was kind and understanding and Sasuke already fucking liked him so it was too damn late. It was done. And Naruto liked him too. Right? He must. There was no way he didn't.

Maybe he, too, wasn't thrilled at the prospect of an office relationship?

Sasuke let out a breath.

He didn't know.

…

Maybe he could just ask, and watch Naruto babble responses until one of them answered all of his questions. Maybe…

Sasuke heard the shower turn off, and he sat back up.

First thing was first—he'd brush his teeth and take his own shower. And then he'd figure out what to do.

* * *

Well—Naruto had been right about one thing at least. Sasuke did want to use his shower.

He _hadn't_ expected the hand Sasuke had brushed along his stomach on the way, or the way he'd tossed his shirt to the floor before the door had fully closed—

Naruto let out a breath, and firmly turned his attention to scrubbing the dishes. Sasuke had finished the soup—completely, which either meant he had liked it or he'd dumped it down the sink and made a decent effort to hide it. Naruto would take either one.

Naruto turned the tap off and went to dry his hands—and then he was acutely aware that the shower was no longer running, either.

"This package of briefs you mentioned," the voice came from behind him, and Naruto spun around, "where can I find it?"

Naruto's brain short-circuited.

…

"—ruto. Moron."

"Hm—what?" Naruto jerked his head up—Sasuke had been talking to him, of course, naked-Sasuke-only-in-a-towel had been talking to him and Naruto could see the drops of water slip down his neck to his collarbone to his pecs to his navel and _Jesus Christ what Naruto would do to lick that drop right off him_ —

Sasuke grabbed his face.

"Wuh," Naruto said, eyes wide.

"Hello," Sasuke said, still squishing his face together.

"Hi," Naruto squeaked.

"I'd like to put some clothes on."

"Oh," shit, that had sounded way too disappointed— "I mean, uh, _oh_ —"

"Where can I find them?"

"Um," Naruto swallowed, "the—drawers, um, second for p-pajamas and first has the box of, uh, underwear—you can just take it—"

Sasuke let go of his face.

"Thanks."

Naruto did his best not to collapse onto the floor as he left.

* * *

Well.

Sasuke shut the door behind him and let the towel drop to the floor.

That had been a relatively successful experiment.

Sasuke smiled to himself as he opened the first drawer. Naruto had responded—well, it had taken all Sasuke had not to immediately start laughing at him again. But he genuinely did want some clothes.

He pulled on Naruto's (well, his, now) new set of briefs, and wandered over to his clothes. He didn't mind wearing them again—Naruto had changed out of pajamas and it made Sasuke feel the need to do the same. He ought to have at least some semblance of being put together.

He pulled his pants on and his phone fell out of them, clattering onto the floor. He had completely forgotten about it.

It wasn't dead yet, which was good—less than halfway. And—

Sasuke stopped.

Oh.

* * *

Naruto gently knocked on the door of his bedroom. He figured Sasuke ought to have changed by now, and he _also_ figured that he really ought to just talk to Sasuke about what was going on as opposed to clamming up every time the guy looked remotely attractive...

"You can come in."

Sasuke was sitting on the bed, still shirtless—wearing his jeans from last night—staring down at his phone.

The words Naruto had had died in his throat.

"What's wrong?"

Sasuke didn't move.

"I…" he said, still staring as his phone flittered to a black screen, "forgot what day it was."

Damn.

He'd been doing so good.

"Y'know what this time of year calls for?"

Sasuke looked up.

"Movies."

Sasuke opened his mouth—

"How d'you feel about gore, Sasuke?"

Sasuke closed his mouth, and then shook his head with a small snort. "I'm fine with it."

"Hm," Naruto said, already making a list in his head, "you seen Ghost Shark?"

"Ghost...what?"

Naruto grinned.

"Get comfy, asshole."

* * *

"The shark can—" Sasuke started, staring at the screen.

"Yup."

"But the water isn't—"

"Yup." Naruto popped another piece of popcorn into his mouth.

"But that doesn't make any—"

"Oh yeah."

Sasuke gave him an incredulous look.

Naruto met it with a grin and held out the bowl.

"Popcorn, Sasuke?"

* * *

"That was the worst thing I have ever seen."

Naruto laughed and nudged at his knees. He had ended up nearly leaning against them, during the movie, slapping at Sasuke's shin every time something progressively more ridiculous had happened—

"It's only gonna get worse from here," he said, using his legs to push up, off of the bed—

"Okay," Naruto said, kneeling at the laptop hooked up to the laptop, "let's look at out options. Oh! I mean, there's always Sharknado—"

"Jesus Christ, no," Sasuke sat up further, ready to fight the blonde for control, "no more sharks."

Naruto's snort very quickly turned into a laugh, and he ducked his head again.

"Okay, okay, no sharks….what about…there's one about birds—"

"Is that a tire?"

"It—Rubber is a—hang on—oh my god, a tire that comes to life and kills people with its psychic powers," Naruto read out, immediately clicking on the link. "This is amazing."

"I—wait, no—"

"Too late! Too late, we're doing it, shove over," Naruto cackled, bouncing up onto the bed.

"Ugh," Sasuke lamented, not moving in the slightest. It gave Naruto the excuse to push at him, which was a reaction that Sasuke was growing more and more fond of—

"Should I make more popcorn?" Naruto paused, midway into nudging Sasuke's shoulder.

"We still have some," Sasuke said, ducking over the side of the bed to pick up the bowl.

"What! You hog—"

"You were going to knock it _over_ , moron—"

"I was not! Gimmie—give it—"

Sasuke held the bowl further out of his reach.

"Sasuke!"

It worked. Naruto crawled over him, sloppily straddling his hips as he reached for the bowl—

Sasuke slid it onto the bed beside him and swiftly switched their positions.

Naruto went from fighting to flustered in a heartbeat.

"Loser," he told the blonde's wide eyes.

"You cheated," Naruto protested, but it was soft, and a little bit breathless.

Sasuke's smile widened, but he pulled back. He grabbed the bowl of popcorn on his way.

"Ugh, you're the worst," Naruto said, sitting up, "what'd we miss?"

The bowl was in Sasuke's lap, now, and it forced Naruto to press close to Sasuke to conveniently get at it. Not that Naruto had previously seemed a big fan of Sasuke's personal space, but still.

"If it's anything like the last movie," Sasuke said, "absolutely nothing."

Naruto laughed and leaned into Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke shifted his arm to make it more comfortable, firmly telling himself that his hand's placement on the bed meant he _wasn't_ putting an arm around Naruto.

No matter how much like that it felt.

"This is weird," Naruto muttered, popping a bit of popcorn into his mouth, "let me know when you want me to make dinner."

"This is a movie about a _tire_ that _kills people_. You chose this. And—"

"Hey, no, _you_ chose this. I was all for Birdemic."

"Bird…?"

Naruto popped another piece of popcorn into his mouth.

"We'll watch it next."

Sasuke heaved out a breath, and it sounded something like a laugh.

"Will you need help?"

"Help?"

"With dinner."

"That—no, no," Naruto tilted his head back towards him, "unless you really want to. I'm at your beck and call, remember?"

Sasuke leaned back against the headboard, letting out a breath. Right. His prize. That…

"Oh, crap, you forgot again, didn't you? And I reminded you—damn it—" Naruto pulled away so he could turn around, hands raised awkwardly in the air as if unsure what to do with them—

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to make me forget?"

"I'm more just trying to distract you," Naruto said softly. "Is it working?"

Sasuke snorted.

"I suppose it's where you thrive."

Naruto's face broke out into a small grin.

"It is, actually," he said, nodding. "All of my old report cards say so. _Naruto is always distracting others in class_ —"

Naruto dissolved into laughter as Sasuke shoved at him. He was so stupid and warm and Sasuke just—Sasuke _hated_ today. He'd sleep through it, drown himself in whatever music or alcohol or movies or _anything_ he could get his hands on to just have it _over_ with. And yet, this year—

This year...he didn't want it to end.

"You are the strangest person I've ever met."

Naruto let out a small, shy laugh.

"I hope you meant that as a compliment."

He did. And he was done waiting.

"The criteria you listed yesterday," in the doorway, when Naruto had looked shy and caught out and something close to resigned, "are they the same today?"

Naruto blinked.

"The...criteria?"

"For you being attracted to me."

Naruto tensed.

"Um," his eyes darted down to the mattress as he sat back on his heels (someone on the TV screamed in the background), "yeah. Yeah, I think so."

"Remind me of them."

Naruto met his eyes. Sasuke visibly saw him suck in a breath.

"Not straight."

Sasuke held up a finger.

"Um," Naruto said, staring at it, "sober."

Sasuke held up another. Naruto's gaze moved back to Sasuke's face.

"Attracted to me…?"

Sasuke held up a third, and Naruto sucked in a breath.

"Um—"

"I have criteria of my own."

Naruto stared at him for a moment, and then relaxed with a small smile.

"Yeah," he nodded, "of course—um, hit me."

"Attracted to me."

Naruto ducked his head and slowly raised up a finger.

"You know that that attraction implies you're not straight, right? You didn't have to make them two separate criteri—"

"Oh my god, you asshole!" Naruto shoved at his shoulder, simultaneously rubbing his hand on his face as if debating hiding away. "I was _nervous_ , okay?"

"Not very good at twenty questions, are you?"

"Sasuke! I'm changing my first thing to must be a fucking _dick_ —"

Sasuke laughed, and Naruto ducked his head to hide his smile. As if he could.

"Good," Sasuke said, "because my next one is must be a moron."

"Oh, come _on_. I'm—you—"

"Oh? You don't fit the bill?"

Sasuke watched, with the laughter bubbling up in his chest, as Naruto despondently raised his second finger.

"You're the worst."

"So you've told me," Sasuke said, watching him. "I have more."

"'Course," Naruto said, nudging himself a little closer. "Keep going."

Sasuke's tongue darted out against his lips.

"Go turn that fucking movie off."

Naruto crumbled into laughter.

"What?" he said, already getting to his feet. "Possessed tires don't do it for you?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but the smile stayed on his face all the same.

"Although," Naruto said, closing the laptop and turning off the TV, "I do have some rubbers if you know what I mean."

He threw Sasuke a grin.

"A little forward, don't you think?"

"Oh I swear to god, Sasuke—" Naruto nearly launched onto the bed, "you and that fucking _line_ —"

Sasuke caught his hands as Naruto laughed and tried to grab at Sasuke's own—

"A million hints," Sasuke said, "and you haven't taken a single one."

Naruto ducked his head.

"I wanted _you_ to take _my_ hints," he grumbled, but his smile moved closer to Sasuke's all the same.

"Mm," Sasuke said, feeling Naruto's breath on his lips, "I should do that, then."

"Yeah," Naruto whispered, "you should."

Finally.

Sasuke fell back into the pillows as Naruto pushed forward (although, the momentum could have easily come from the hand Sasuke had in Naruto's hair)—Naruto's lips were warm and perfect and _finally_ —

It felt like filling a craving. It felt like satisfaction itself on his lips—like low, coiling heat in the bottom of his stomach—like Naruto's fingertips slipping underneath the sleeves of Sasuke's shirt—like his soft, languid tongue that rolled and turned and pressed with Sasuke's—

He was falling, again.

He'd thought he'd already finished. He'd thought he'd hit the ground, at least once today—surely, there was a limit to the things you could find to like about someone. Surely, there was a point where the fog would clear, where the giddiness would fade, where Naruto would no longer be new and charming and so consistently kind—

"Fuck," Naruto pulled back just to crumble into Sasuke's shoulder, "I like you way too much."

Sasuke let out a soft, breathless laugh. What _was_ this? What even _was_ this feeling, where Naruto's warmth was imprinted on him like burns on his skin, where he looked into Naruto's eyes and then he was lost to them, where Naruto kissed him and his mind sunk its claws into the feeling and refused to move—

"What's on your neck...?" Naruto pulled back, running two fingers along the skin—

"I was bitten by a snake," Sasuke told him, "when I was twelve."

"The—on your _neck_?! Wh—was it venomous? Are there even any snakes around here? Oh my god, I'm never going outside again—"

Sasuke reached up and put a hand over Naruto's mouth.

"Itachi had the bright idea to go to Australia," he said, "over Christmas."

Naruto, still with Sasuke's hand over his mouth, nodded. It hadn't been the exotic, away-from-it-all vacation Itachi had wanted, but it had certainly been better than here at this time of year.

"I'm not sure if the snake was venom—"

Naruto's muffled voice yelled something about " _Authalia!_ " and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"It didn't _use_ any venom, then. Moron. I was fine."

He pulled his hand away and Naruto leaned forwards, again. Sasuke closed his eyes as he felt Naruto's lips press against his skin—

"Glad you're okay," he whispered, and Sasuke didn't know if it was the warmth of his breath or the warmth of his words that made him tremble, but he did—more and more as Naruto moved his kisses to trail along his neck, his collarbone—he gripped Naruto's hips just to have somewhere to hold, something to hang onto—Sasuke was just—

Falling.

"Naruto," he whispered, and then his lips were occupied once again. Soft and tantalizing, Naruto's hand traced up Sasuke's body as their mouths moved together—Sasuke pulled at his hips and then they— _oh_ —they rolled, and—

Naruto pulled back, eyes as glazed and unfocused as Sasuke's own—

"Um," he said, lips swollen and panting, "if I cross any boundaries—"

"I'll kill you, don't worry," he muttered, using the moment to flip their positions.

Naruto laughed a small "oh my god, Sasuke," as his back hit the bed, and Sasuke couldn't help but laugh too, because Naruto was so _stupidly_ considerate, so incessantly compassionate when all he could be doing was focusing on his own pleasure—but that was alright.

Sasuke was happy to focus on it for him.

It was a series of his own kisses that had Naruto melting in his hands, this time—except it was along the hem of his pants, just along the bottom of his—

"Do you have a tattoo?"

Sasuke pulled the fabric up.

"Wh—oh. Oh, um, yeah," Naruto sat up a little, "it's, uh—actually, my mom was a—well, I dunno if she was famous or anything but she was a really successful artist—um, remind me, I've got a book in the living room I can show you, but—"

"Your mother? Your foster mother?"

"No," Naruto sat up a little more, "my birth mother."

Sasuke immediately sat up straighter.

Naruto raised his hands, and let Sasuke toss his shirt to the floor.

"It was something she, uh, worked on with her husband though. Or, uh, my birth dad, I mean. They—both did it. I thought that—I dunno. Sorry, I'm—I'm rambling again."

Sasuke ran his hands along Naruto's stomach.

"Ramble away."

Naruto let out a breathless laugh. Sasuke let his body relax—stretch and settled against Naruto's, so he could trail his fingers along the markings, the spiral around Naruto's navel and the symbols that extended from it—

"Um," Naruto said, and it cracked right in the middle, "I just—I went a really long time without knowing who they were—"

Sasuke moved his lips to Naruto's skin.

"And—um, I, um—just wanted, um, a physical connection to—fuck, Sasuke, I can't think when you're doing that—"

Sasuke smiled.

"Doing what?" he asked, letting his fingers dip under the hem of Naruto's pants.

" _Sasuke_ —"

Sasuke's chest rested against Naruto's hips, and even all the layers of fabric between them, there was nothing subtle about the erection rapidly pressing harder and harder against him.

"Something you want, Naruto?" he mumbled the words into Naruto's happy trail.

Naruto let out a desperate, breathless laugh.

Sasuke met his eyes with his own, intently resting his hands along the hem of Naruto's pants.

"Take off your shirt, at least, you asshole," Naruto said, laughing and blushing and if he just kept smiling at Sasuke like that, Sasuke thought he might do anything in the world—

"You do tend to like it when I do that, don't you?"

Sasuke managed to undo his first three top buttons before Naruto recovered enough to respond.

"You know _what_ —" Naruto sat up, grabbing at Sasuke's shirt, "you cocky fucking asshole— _yes_. Yeah, I _do_ , and you know that and you've been using it against me all _day_ —"

Sasuke laughed as Naruto pushed him back, muttering obscenities about the injustice of Sasuke's existence, to pull at his shirt. Naruto was just so—

"Stupid," Sasuke muttered, as his shirt fell somewhere onto the floor. Naruto let out a soft laugh, as if it had been a compliment—but then, maybe it had been—and turned his kisses to Sasuke's exposed skin. Sasuke arched into the touch (easily, comfortably, automatically) and his fingers moved to play with the hem of Naruto's pants again, waiting for the blonde to stop him.

He didn't.

Sasuke took the invitation and ran. Naruto's pants were loose and easy to slide past—easy to slip under, to feel the heat of Naruto's cock—to let his palm glide along it—

Naruto's breath came out as a hiss as he tensed and buckled, all at once. Sasuke pushed back against him just as firmly, meeting the tension with his own. It held Naruto in place, up on his knees and collapsing against him—

"S'not _fair_ —" Naruto whined, twisting his face into the nook of Sasuke's neck. Sasuke bit down on his laugh, but his chest shook with it nonetheless, and Naruto obviously noticed.

"Asshole," he breathed, one hand working Sasuke's zipper. In retrospect, tight-fitting jeans made this whole process far more inconvenient than Sasuke cared for it to be. Naruto must have agreed, from the soft noise of discontent in the back of his throat—

"You're so—" Naruto said, with a strain to his voice that matched the daze in his eyes, "Sasuke, I—"

Sasuke gave him another slow, thorough pump. There was some growing part of him that wanted to take his time, here—to make this last, to tease Naruto until he was nothing but a trembling mess in his hands—but then—

"Sasuke," Naruto breathed again, and it commanded Sasuke to let go. It commanded him to pull back, so Naruto could get those clothes away, and so Sasuke obeyed—

"Jesus Christ," Naruto whispered—a mutter under his breath, but Sasuke heard it nonetheless. Sasuke reached out and grabbed Naruto's hands before they could be back on him, directing them to Naruto's own pants, instead. He wasn't the only one filled with desire—he wasn't the only one lost to this whirlwind of hunger, emotion, _connection_ —

And then Naruto was naked, and pressed up against him. It was a shame, really, because Sasuke desperately wanted several more moments to take in the view—but, for now, memorizing it with his own body would have to do instead—

"Sasuke," Naruto groaned into his ear, and Sasuke let himself fall back. His legs were apart with Naruto in between them, and those blue, hooded eyes looked down at him with a question and a _promise_ —

"Yes," Sasuke said, and Naruto's eyes widened. It was a surprise that Sasuke recognized; he'd felt it in his own heart ever since Naruto had walked into that kitchen and immediately set him at ease.

Sasuke was falling.

Naruto kissed him with intent, then. With purpose—a kiss to relax him into the sheets underneath him, a kiss to tell him that Naruto would listen, would be there, would do—

"Whatever you want, okay?" Naruto asked as he pulled away, but it hadn't needed saying at all. Sasuke had known.

And as Naruto reached into his bedside table—the second drawer, Sasuke noticed and _noted_ for future reference—Sasuke felt something jump in his stomach. Naruto's kisses were hot around his hips and he could feel the bottle of lube against his thigh—Naruto shifted back and gently spread Sasuke's legs wider apart and Sasuke's blood _spiked_ with excitement—

"Come up," Sasuke whispered, and Naruto obeyed, one hand sliding along the bottom of Sasuke's thigh until their lips met again. Naruto's hips sunk between Sasuke's legs and then they _moved_ , and Sasuke couldn't help but bring his other leg up, too, to cross them over Naruto's back—to pull him closer, closer, closer, ah—

"Sasuke—" Naruto panted into his mouth, "nngh—"

Sasuke pulled him closer.

"Nngh— _god_ , Sas—I have to—" Naruto groaned and pulled back, "let me stretch you."

"Only if you kiss me," Sasuke answered, dazed and breathless—

Naruto laughed, and Sasuke distinctly heard the cap of the lube open.

"Demanding asshole," were the words muttered into Sasuke's mouth, "I love it."

Sasuke responded by wrapping his arms around Naruto, even if he had to twist to let their mouths meet properly—Naruto was a bit off to the side, now, so he could press his fingers—

"Still good, Sasuke?"

—just at the entrance, not in, not yet, but Sasuke could feel the coolness of the lube that coated them—

"Mm," he answered, tilting his head up for another kiss. Naruto seemed happy to oblige, from the way his smile spread across Sasuke's lips—from the way his fingers pressed a little harder, until they—

"Nngh—"

"Talk to me, Sasuke," Naruto said, trailing kisses along his skin. "Is it okay?"

"Yeah," Sasuke breathed—

"Want me to make it better?"

Sasuke bit his lip and nodded. He was halfway to wanting _more_ , already, with the slick, slow way Naruto's fingers stretched through him—

Naruto laughed his way down Sasuke's chest. Sasuke closed his eyes and focused on the sound—on the feeling—on Naruto's breath on his hips, moving closer—oh— _oh_ —

It took everything Sasuke had to keep his hips pinned as Naruto took him into his mouth. He was already tempted to rock with Naruto's fingers—to find a rhythm with them as they found a rhythm in him—but with Naruto's mouth, hot and wet and Sasuke opened his eyes to find Naruto's _focused_ on him—

"Something you want, Sasuke?" he taunted—teasing Sasuke the way Sasuke had teased him—and Sasuke's skin broke out in chills. It was the look in those eyes, centered on him as if Sasuke's soul was laid bare for them—laid bare for Naruto—

Naruto took Sasuke into his mouth again, and Sasuke's response dissolved in his mouth. It was all his mind could to do remind him to _breathe_ —breathe, fuck, he was just _drowning_ in this pleasure, just encompassed by it, it was so—so—

"Naruto—Na—"

Naruto moved up to swirl his tongue along he head of Sasuke's cock.

"Yeah?"

"Moron," Sasuke used the word to try and catch his breath—

Naruto let out a breathless laugh.

"You try'na tell me you're ready, asshole?"

Sasuke breathed out a "yes", heavily influenced by the way he sunk down on Naruto's fingers as they pressed up into him again—

And then they slipped out.

In the time Sasuke caught his breath, Naruto already had the condom slipped on. Naruto's tongue darted between his lips, pressed together, as he lubed himself up—

"How do you want me?" Naruto whispered, wiping the remnants of the lube on his hand onto a tissue.

Sasuke reached out and pulled Naruto forward by the wrist. The answer was inside him—all over him—he pulled at Naruto until the blonde crawled over top of him, hands running up Sasuke's legs as Sasuke raised his hips in preparation—one of Naruto's hands curved up, under his back, and the other reached up to slip a pillow under Sasuke's hips—

"Sasuke—you can still kill me at any time, 'kay?"

Naruto threw him a grin, which rapidly widened as Sasuke laughed—

"You stupid idiot," Sasuke told him.

Naruto laughed with him, giving Sasuke's hips a tight squeeze—pulling them just enough to increase the pressure—

"Okay?"

"Okay."

Naruto pushed forwards.

It was a good thing Naruto had a grip on Sasuke's hips—a good thing that the pillow was there, too—because the pressure had Sasuke somewhere close to _crumbling_ in Naruto's arms. Sasuke breathed out once, and then again—

" _God_ , Sasuke—" Naruto buckled forwards, gasping his name out. "You feel so—ss, fuck—"

"Naruto," Sasuke breathed out, "come here."

He reached his arms out and Naruto was in them in a heartbeat, capturing his lips in a slow, meaningful, incapacitating kiss—if Sasuke had been standing then he was sure he would have fallen—

"Move," he whispered into Naruto's mouth, and Naruto answered it with a soft moan into his. His hips pressed forwards—just _barely_ —and Sasuke collapsed back into the pillows—they pushed forwards more and Sasuke's back arched—they pulled back and Sasuke—

"Ah—hah—"

"Sasuke—" Naruto leaned forwards, arms crossing under Sasuke's waist to pull him in—to help him _bend_ , as Naruto's kisses broke his gasps for breath—

Sasuke raised his hips and crossed his legs behind Naruto's back.

"Nngh—fuck—"

Everything tightened, all at once—Naruto thrust _in_ and Sasuke met it with all he had, and then again, and again, and again, again, again, again—

Naruto leaned back and pulled Sasuke up with him, until he was on Naruto's lap (legs around him, arms around him, Naruto's mouth was hot and wet and it met Sasuke's tongue with the same wild desperation humming through Sasuke's veins)—Sasuke rocked his hips forward and Naruto groaned into his mouth—

"You're so good, Sasuke," Naruto whispered, "so good, hah—"

Sasuke ducked his head into Naruto's shoulder and just _breathed_ —there was so much (too much) in his head, between the pleasure and the emotion and Naruto, oh god, Naruto—

"Sasuke—"

Sasuke threw his head back and the rest of his body fell with it—

"I've got you."

All he could feel was—

"You can let go."

All he could _feel_ was—

"I've got you."

Sasuke crumbled.

It was with Naruto's own moan (the clench of his hands, his nails digging into Sasuke's skin) that Sasuke came. The blonde fell forwards and Sasuke clung to him, as if he was the only thing keeping Sasuke from being lost to these waves of pleasure—these echoes, flooding through him, in time with the gasps of Naruto's breath against his skin—

"You're—" Naruto strained out, "you're just fucking good at everything, aren't you? God—"

Naruto sagged against him, pressing his forehead to Sasuke's skin. Sasuke closed his eyes and muttered a soft "moron".

It made Naruto laugh, and press a soft kiss behind Sasuke's ear. It was only a second before Naruto kissed him again—on the cheek, this time—and pulled back.

Sasuke let his eyes flutter open as he felt Naruto brush the hair from his face.

"Hey," Naruto whispered.

Sasuke met his gaze with a soft smile.

"I like you."

Sasuke snorted and made a point of eyeing the way their hips were still pressed firmly together.

"I should hope so."

Naruto laughed, and Sasuke wrapped a hand around his neck to pull him in for a kiss. Soft, slow—almost _lazy_ , with the easy way their mouths moved together.

Naruto rested his forehead against Sasuke's as they pulled apart.

"You're not so bad yourself, you know," Sasuke whispered quietly. He both heard and felt Naruto's soft laugh.

"Tell you what," Naruto said, twisting his head in away that almost felt like _nuzzling_ , "you get cleaned up, and I'm gonna make us dinner. Okay?"

Sasuke's smile widened. Not that he wasn't hungry, but—

"And you aren't going to get clean?"

"I mean," Naruto pulled back a little, "yeah, I will, but you can go first—if you..."

Naruto's voice trailed off at the look Sasuke gave him.

"Moron," Sasuke said. "A _million_ hints—

Naruto cut off his sentence with a firm, laughing kiss.

"You dick," Naruto muttered. "I like you _so much_."

Naruto pulled back, and Sasuke threw an arm over his face to hide the way it was flushed. With all he teased Naruto, it was Sasuke with his heart beating its way through his chest.

"Gonna pull out now, 'kay?"

Sasuke made a noise of agreement. He pulled his hand from his face and watched as Naruto left him with soft, slow precision.

He threw the condom out, and held out his clean hand.

"C'mon, Sasuke."

Sasuke took it.

* * *

If his body had been up to it, Naruto could have stayed in the shower all day. Sasuke was warm and wet and so fucking _tempting_ , god, he couldn't even get hard properly again and all he wanted to do was worship Sasuke's body—

"Onions." Sasuke shoved a cutting board in front of Naruto's face, and Naruto leaned back so he could scrape everything into the pot. They'd both gotten pretty hungry after the shower, though, so _other_ aspects of their bodies would have to wait.

For now.

"What else d'you want?" Naruto asked as Sasuke glanced through his fridge. They'd opted for another stew—heartier, this time—'cause of the cold. Something about today made Naruto just want to curl up in a blanket with Sasuke...maybe he'd make some hot chocolate, too…was that a Christmas-y thing? Naruto didn't know. It didn't feel like it, somehow, but maybe it would to Sasuke—

"Here," Sasuke pulled out a bag, and then two more, "the rest of this."

Sasuke passed it to him, and Naruto made a point of letting his hand linger. He felt so— _giddy_ , right now. Just as if he was walking on air—on sunshine—whatever the saying was. Naruto was living it. He felt so—

"Moron," Sasuke said, placing a hand on Naruto's waist as he reached around him.

Sasuke had been awfully touchy-feely too—a hand on Naruto's waist, a brush of his knuckles along his arm, a press of their hips together...Naruto felt as if the warmth was just bursting through him, now.

"You smile too much," Sasuke muttered, turning back to the chopping board.

"You don't smile enough," Naruto countered, meaning every word. Sasuke's smile was fucking heart-breaking.

Sasuke snorted. "You sound like my brother."

"Aw," Naruto laughed, adding the rest of the veggies to the pot and closing the lid, "I think I like your brother. I—crap, what was his name?"

"Itachi. You clearly can't like him that much."

Sasuke gave him a look as he left the kitchen.

"Hey!" Naruto trotted after him. "You're one to talk, you didn't even remember _my_ name!"

"Mm," Sasuke said, letting Naruto press him against the armrest of the couch, "clearly I'd already decided to just call you moron."

"Wow," Naruto bounced his body against Sasuke's, laughing, "you asshole—"

"And there's my name."

It was the surprise that got Naruto that time—even with all of Sasuke's snarky responses, they still always caught Naruto off-guard.

"You're so fun," he said softly, tilting his head a little. He could see Sasuke's face flush at the words. "Did you wanna finish the movie?"

Sasuke let out a breath.

"I…" Sasuke sighed despondently, staring down between their bodies, "want to know how it ends."

Naruto let out a delighted laugh, and pulled Sasuke by the wrists.

"They got you! The tire got you—you _like_ it—"

"I don't _like_ it, I just want to—"

"Keep watching it, uh-huh, uh-huh, sure—I'm sure you hate it so much—"

"Naruto, _you_ —"

Naruto laughed again as Sasuke practically tackled him onto the bed. He made no move to fight back as Sasuke pinned his wrists down—Sasuke's face was flushed, but smiling (that soft, hidden smile that Sasuke always looked like he was trying to fight)—

"You're the biggest idiot in the world."

Naruto looked up at him, smiling. There was not a word in that sentence that felt like an insult.

"You're not close enough to this idiot," he told him.

Sasuke's eyes softened, and then he took the hint. Kissing Sasuke was just...Naruto sighed into his mouth and wrapped his arms around him (Sasuke had let go to pull at Naruto's body, too). So addicting. So, so addicting. Naruto felt like he could lay here and do this forever.

Sasuke made a small noise into his mouth, almost like a sigh. Maybe it had been a response to Naruto's own, because god, this was so _easy_. So good—sex with Sasuke had been _mind-blowing_. He'd never been with someone who fit with him so well. It was like he responded to every move Naruto made—and everything Sasuke wanted was so _clear_ to him, somehow, Sasuke's body was so easy to read—

"Sasuke," he whispered, feeling it as Sasuke's hips dipped to _press_ against Naruto's, "if you want, the—"

"Second drawer, I know," Sasuke said into his mouth, hands already under Naruto's shirt—

Naruto laughed. Of course Sasuke knew.

"Then—y'know, something else you should know," Naruto said, as Sasuke pulled back, "is that I'm—I don't have a preference. For positioning."

He did, sometimes. With certain people—with certain lovers. He had no worries with Sasuke, though.

They fit so well together.

"Just so you know—what's on the table." Naruto shifted under Sasuke's gaze.

"...You're on the table?"

Naruto shifted again. He couldn't duck his head properly when he was under Sasuke like this—

"If you want."

Sasuke watched him for a moment longer, eyes trailing up Naruto's face with a heat that made Naruto want to duck, again—

"Moron," he whispered, and then they were kissing again.

Naruto made a mental note to wash these sheets before they fell asleep tonight.

* * *

It ended up being perfect timing. Once Sasuke was finished with Naruto—and oh, how he'd _finished_ Naruto—the food was ready. Sasuke grabbed two bowls while Naruto changed the sheets, and then they sat, side by side, as the movie unpaused.

"I," Naruto started, "can't remember a single thing we missed from the start."

Sasuke snorted.

"I'll be honest," he said, "I don't think it was very much. Did you want to restart it?"

Naruto laughed.

"Nah," he said, "I think I can keep up with the plot."

"Is there a plot?" Sasuke asked, voice nonchalant, but eyes sparkling with laughter—Naruto loved that look on him. He nudged his shoulder into Sasuke's as he laughed again, vaguely staring at the screen. He just wanted to look at Sasuke...the shirt dipped down, off his shoulder (where Naruto had probably been pulling at the fabric), so Naruto could see the scar on Sasuke's neck again. It was barely there, anymore...Naruto supposed it had been a while, but…

"Oh, I forgot," Naruto sat up a little, glancing towards the door, "I have that—that book of my, uh, birth mother's art, if you—"

"Bring it here."

* * *

Sasuke was very delicate with it. He didn't know how easy it was to get a copy of something so precious, but he wasn't about to take any risks. He flipped through the book gently and slowly, taking each picture in as they came. Sasuke had never been one for the finer pieces of art, but this was a glimpse into the heart of someone Sasuke who clearly meant something to Naruto.

Naruto made small, soft comments and pointed out each time his birth father's name could be seen on the page (Minato Namikaze, Sasuke thought to himself, and Kushina Uzumaki). He burned their names into his memory.

"She's very talented."

Naruto looked down at the page with a soft, sad fondness.

"Was."

Oh.

Sasuke slipped his arm around Naruto's waist in the subtlest way he could. The blonde still leaned into the touch.

"They died on my birthday, actually. Both of them."

Some sort of horror lashed through Sasuke, then—something strong and twisted and painful—

"I'm never celebrating anything ever again," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto laughed, soft and aching. "I'm sorry Sasuke," he said. "I didn't mean to remind you."

"It's alright." It was _there_ , really, like a gaping hole in the back of his mind. Memories surrounded by an aching pain. "It never really goes away."

Naruto rested his head on Sasuke's shoulder.

"No," he sighed softly, "it doesn't."

There was a pause. Naruto settled further into him.

"I think I've done a decent job distracting you, though. I'm gotta step it up. You're not gonna know what hit you."

Sasuke mind stuttered and paused over the words. Naruto was facing away from him, so he wasn't sure what the blonde was thinking, but—

"Naruto," he called his attention to him, "you aren't only a distraction. To me." That's not was this was. That wasn't what this was to Naruto, was it? A way to kill the time they both hated? A way to kill the memories? No, that—

"Okay," Naruto sat up straight to face him, "okay—so, okay, I wanted to talk to you—and this is—okay. I know everybody says you're not supposed to date co-workers and it's a bad idea and everything and I know it is because if it's a nasty break-up then you have to deal with that shit every day when work is already shitty enough but I…" he let out a resigned breath, "I really like you, Sasuke. And you're only here for six months, so it's not even _really_ like I'm dating a co-worker, and—fuck me, I'm _rambling again,_ Sasuke—"

Sasuke laughed. He couldn't help it. Naruto groaned and put his face in his hands, so brimming with embarrassment over laying his feelings out in front of Sasuke, but it was so _clear_. Everything Naruto said was so honest. So earnest. So—

"Ramble away."

He loved this part of Naruto.

Naruto peeked up at him through his fingers.

"Ugh," he said, pulling his hands from his face, "okay. I, um, okay, you're—you're not a distraction to me either. You probably know, but I want you to know for sure 'cause I—honestly, I really suck at the whole casual thing, Sasuke. And if that's what you want, you really gotta tell me now because—"

"It's not."

Naruto sagged in relief.

"Thank god," he said, breathless. "Then—um, like, exclusive stuff—that's okay with you?"

Sasuke let out a soft snort.

"That's about all I'm open to," he answered honestly.

Naruto's face lit up like the sun.

"Yeah? So we're—we're dating?"

Sasuke watched him for a moment longer.

"Yes, we're dating."

Naruto nearly leapt into his arms.

It was strange, really. Sasuke hadn't thought he could feel so brimming, so bursting with happiness—especially today. Especially Christmas Eve. Sasuke had hated every second of the day. Every second of the days around it. But now…

Now, it was the day after Naruto had kissed him. It was the day after Naruto had grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him around the room until Sasuke had realized he was having _fun_. It was the day Naruto had held his hand and made him breakfast and forced him to watch the worst movies in the entire world—and then, the day that Naruto had _finally_ kissed him again—

It was the day he started dating Naruto.

Sasuke smiled as Naruto kissed him again.

What a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! I hope you guys liked it! I want to have lots more written for you in the year to come :)
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> \- Kinomi

**Author's Note:**

> A little teaser for what's to come? Tomorrow's chapter is even longer, and the last chapter is double that! Happy holidays everyone - thank you so much for all of your support! I hope this gave a little back to you :)
> 
> See you tomorrow,
> 
> \- Kinomi


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